"Surprisingly decent..."

When Capcom first released Power Stone, I thought, "No way, they're not going to be able to pull off a decent 3D game like SoulCalibur." Granted that they have made many hit 2d fighting games in the past, including the beloved Street Fighter series, I figured that 2D fighting is what they should stick to. Being Capcom, however, I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt. After playing a few rounds against my friend, we were both hooked. It seems like a button masher at first, but after playing arcade mode, we started to realize there actually is some strategy involved in the fighting...

GAMEPLAY

The overall gameplay is sort of reminiscent of Pocket Fighter, Capcom's 2D fighter starring miniturized versions of the Streetfighters and Darkstalkers. There are 4 buttons, punch, kick, throw/pick up, and jump. Combos are executed like Pocket Fighter, simply by pushing punch/kick in a series (ex. PPKK would be a combo). What makes this game great is that you completely interact with the arena, from picking up chairs, boxes, or weapons, to climbing up poles, hanging on the ceiling, or jumping off the walls. When a character collects the 3 gems scattered throughout the arena, they can temporarily morph into a more powerful version of themselves. I've heard a lot of complaints on how the characters are unevenly matched, and how the faster characters can easily beat the slow, hulking brutes simply by running after the stones, but I assure you, it's not true. They may be slow, but if you play them right, you can easily prevent the faster characters from reaching the gems and then start ripping them apart...

GRAPHICS/SOUND

The graphics, of course are crystal clear. Once again, Sega proves that its system can more than handle a combination of 3D animation as well as 2D anime type graphics. I like the fluidity of motions each character goes through during combos, throws, or specials. The sound is about average for a fighting game, but I think they could have done better with the voice dubbing.

REPLAYABILITY

This game has great replay value. Everytime you beat the game, you can unlock hidden options, such as weapons or boss access. There are 15 things to unlock in all.

Personally, I would recommend buying this game. I found it surprisingly good, for a 3D fighter made by Capcom. My only real complaint is the lack of characters. I found myself playing this with my friend for hours at a time, which is rare for me these days. It's very easy to learn, but hard to master. There are no special controller movements, such as the classic fireball motions, uppercut motions, or the dreaded 360, just straight-up beat up on the opponent before he does it to you. What more could you ask for?